Friday, March 15, 2013

No

who led Roman Catholicism in Chile for more than two decades, championing human rights and sharply criticizing Gen. Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship, died on Friday in a home for retired priests in Santiago, Chile .... Under Cardinal Silva Henriquez, the Chilean church made demands during the Pinochet years for the return of democracy. When the Cardinal preached about the sacredness of human rights, worshipers frequently cried out: ''Raul! Our friend, the people are with you!'' Despite death threats and other would-be intimidations, the Cardinal also helped gather documentation about human rights abuses, including torture, during the Pinochet era. And he sponsored efforts to help people who had lost their jobs because of political persecution to get new ones. He also sponsored legal assistance for political prisoners ...

a 2012 Chilean drama film directed by Pablo Larraín. The film is based on the unpublished play El Plebiscito, written by Antonio Skármeta. Mexican actor Gael García Bernal plays René, an in-demand advertising man working in Chile in the late 1980s. The historical moment the film captures is when advertising tactics came to be widely used in political campaigns. The campaign in question was the historic 1988 plebiscite of the Chilean citizenry over whether general Pinochet should have another 8-year term as President.